Father's bid to catch yobs on video ends in bloodshed

When Robert Anderson rang police to tell him a gang of youths had been vandalising his home, he was told there wasn't enough evidence for them to take action.

So the next time the hooded thugs turned up and began kicking in his fence, the 55-year-old architect went outside with his video camera - and was subjected to a terrifying assault that left him dripping with blood.

The entire shocking episode was filmed by the father-of-two, but it took police three days to pick up the footage, and nearly a week later he has heard nothing more.

He has condemned the response and said he realised now that he had been lucky not to have ended up in hospital - or worse.

The attack happened last Friday night in the normally quiet Cheshire village of Culcheth, whose residents include Britain's highest-earning solicitor, Andrew Nulty.

Mr Anderson, who works for BNFL, said: "I grabbed the camera because that was the only way I was going to get enough evidence for the police to do anything, but after what happened I'm not sure I'd do it again.

"All I did was stand there filming them, but then they set upon me."

The video shows the youths - eight boys and two girls - shouting obscenities and exposing their backsides at Mr Anderson then walking away, only to return after it apparently occurs to them that they are being filmed.

One throws a large piece of board at him, and then two attempt to wrestle the camera from him, punching him twice in the head and leaving blood pouring from a cut lip.

The footage records his yells of "Help me!", at which they scatter, and shows him dialling 999 as his labrador-cross, Sheba, barks furiously.

Clearly traumatised by the attack, he can be heard explaining to the operator: "This is my dog, she's just trying to protect me. I wish you could protect me."

After a further call, an officer came round two hours later and asked Mr Anderson to make a copy of the video, but his promise that someone would collect it in the morning was not fulfilled.

On the Monday evening, while he was at work, the youths returned to damage the fence again, and although his wife Shona, 51, rang 999, it was over an hour before officers attended, this time taking the film with them.

It was the fourth time they had called the police, following previous attacks on the property around Hallowe'en including egg-throwing.

On previous occasions they were told there was insufficient evidence to take action and instead offered counselling on being a victim of crime.

"There's something wrong with the system - if they hadn't fled when I started shouting, I might have ended up on the ground being kicked, and who knows what would have happened then," said Mr Anderson.

"These yobs shout things like 'paedophile' and 'I'll kick your dog's head in' when I'm out walking Sheba, and the only reason I can think of why we're being targeted is that I'm the type of person to take a stand."

His wife added: "I feel like I'm living in a prison, because I'm scared to go out. If Robert is away at work, there is no way I would go out and confront them. I'm too terrified."

The couple have two grown-up children, Chris, 26, and Kirsty, 24.

Ileyne Hutchinson, a neighbour who co-ordinates the local Homewatch anti-crime scheme, said: "The police know who these kids are. It's the same ones over and over again.

"They need to take a no-tolerance attitude - then respectable people will not be left in fear for their lives or feeling they need to act because they are not getting the help they need."

Cheshire Police said: "We can confirm an assault and criminal damage has occurred and inquiries are ongoing. There have been problems reported to us in that area."

Cheshire Police said there had been 19 other emergencies taking place when Mr Anderson rang to say he was being attacked, resulting in a gap of an hour and 40 minutes before an officer attended.

It said the video had now been viewed and it was trying to establish the identities of his assailants.